Webster's defines hope "to cherish a desire with anticipation". Dictionary.com says "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best".
I am a firm believer in hope. I'm not known for being an optimist (or a pessimist). I tend to just be a realist. I look at what is and I call it like I see it. That is, until tragedy strikes. Then, once I've assessed the situation and seen what things are at that moment, something in me changes and I find myself seeing what could be. When things fall apart we have to start somewhere and begin picking up the pieces. We have to move on. And in order to do that, we have to have hope. Something inside of us has to know that things can change for the better. We have to believe that we can make a difference no matter how overwhelming the situation may seem. And in order to help we've got to have compassion. Hope and Compassion go hand-in-hand. I don't think you can separate them. Compassion is not only feeling sympathetic, but having a desire to do something to help those that are hurting. And if you want to help, then you have to believe that somewhere there's hope. You have to know that what is, isn't what has to be.
Sometimes in the midst of tragedy, hope can seem so very far away. When circumstances are beyond overwhelming, it's hard to see past what's in front of us. But as we begin to take the necessary steps to make things better, as we begin to dig through the rubble, as we pick up the broken pieces, light begins to shine through. We know this. We've seen it before. We've been here before. We cannot stand around and worry and shake our heads and talk about how bad things appear to be getting in the world. We are the world. And whether or not those directly affected by these tragedies are your family or not, they are someone's family. They are someone's friends. And you may not know them, but God does and He loves them just as much as he loves you. And that is Hope.
This I recall to my mind, therefore I have HOPE. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His COMPASSIONS never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have HOPE. ~Lamentations 3:21-24
1 comment:
Hey Mel :) Thanks for writing. This idea of what hope is, trying to flesh it out - one of my favorite topics. I celebrate the people like you in my life who exhibit that stubbornness known as hope.
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